Razor blade sharpener



Mayan 1m G. H. MURRQN l 2,118,931

RAZOR BLADE SHARPENER Filed July-3, 1937 l N VE N TOR gHLE TH H. Nuke/N Patented May 31, 1938 UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE 10 Claims.

This invention relates generally to abrading devices, and more particularly to a razor blade Sharpener of the character embodied in my U. S. Patent No. 1,955,759, of April 24, 1934, and in my abandoned application for patent on a razor blade Sharpener filed September 30, 1933, Serial No. 691,643, Series of 1925.

An object of the present invention is to provide a razor blade Sharpener which is characterized by its structural simplification and improved mode of operation to insure a uniform sharpening of the edge of the razor blade throughout its length in an expeditious manner.

Another object of the invention is to provide a razor blade Sharpener wherein blade holders are structurally characterized to hold wafer and hollow ground blades in proper position for sharp-- ening .and/ or honing, and to enable the blades to be applied to and removed from the respective holders with utmost ease, yet insure that in the applied position of the blades they will be securely and accurately supported in operative relationship to the abrading element.

Other objects of the invention are to improve upon the structures of the frame, carriage, and blade holder, as well as the blade clamping means, blade reversing means, the means for effecting impingement of the blade upon the abrading element, and the construction of the latter in addition to its mounting and manipulating means.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the combination, arrangements and functional relationships of elements as set forth in the following specification and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing,

Figure l is a perspective View of the razor blade Sharpener with a double edged wafer blade applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a central longitudinal sectional view of the Sharpener;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the carriage and blade holder for flexible wafer type blades, and showing parts broken away to disclose other parts;

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view oi the abrader embodied in the Sharpener;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the abrader and correlated supporting means for one end thereof;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a bottom frame section;

Figure 'l is a perspective View partly broken away, of a top frame section in an inverted position;

Figure 8 is a bottom plan View of a blade retaining member with a conventional razor blade applied thereto;

Figure 9 is a plan view of the carriage with a modied form of blade holder for supporting rigid hollow ground razor blades;

Figure 10 is a sectional view taken on the line lil-Ill of Figure 9;

Figure 11 is a perspective View of a rigid hollow ground double edged razor blade for which the blade holder shown in Figures 9 and l0 is particularly adapted.

Referring specifically to the drawing and particularly to Figures 1 to 8, inclusive, the invention in its present embodiment comprises a rectangular frame F composed of top and bottom sections I and 2 secured together at their corners by screws 3. The top section I is provided along its upper longitudinal side edges with racks 4 formed in the undersides of inwardly projecting ledges 5 of the section. The longitudinal side walls of the bottom section 2 exceed those of the top section I in thickness to provide a ledge 6 at the meeting edges of the sections for co-action with the ledges 5 and side walls of the sections in defining slideways for a carriage C which carries a blade holder H.

In one end of the frame F and at the longitudinal center line thereof are formed half bearings I and la, in which a trunnion 8 projecting from one end of an abrader A is journaled. The outer end of the trunnion 8 terminates in a knob I by which various adjustments of the abrader can be manually effected as will be later fully described. It will be noted that the corresponding end of the bottom section 2 is provided with a recess I I adjacent the half bearing 'Ia to enable the tapered portion of a coupler I2 between the trunnion 8 and abrader A to clear the the bottom section when reversing the position of the abrader.

The bottom section 2 is provided with a rectangular opening I3 freely receiving the abrader so as to permit rotation thereof, and the bottom wall of the section is provided adjacent such opening with an upstanding lug I4 forming a bearing for the other trunnion I6 of the abrader. It will thus be clear that the trunnions 8 and I5 co-act with thev respective bearings in the frame to mount the abrader therein for rotary adjustment to present one surface or the other of the abrader to the razor blade to be operated upon.

The trunnion I6 is of sufficient length to permit retraction of the abrader by a pull exerted upon the knob I9 against the action of a at spring 58, so as to free the abrader for rotary adjustment in the frame by clearing a stop lug 58a, on the abrader from the bottom wall of the bottom section 2 adjacent the lug I4. It will be understood that the position of the stop lug 58a is such as to permit a limited oscillatory movement of the abrader about the axis of the trunnions 8 and i6 for the purpose set forth in detail in Patent No. 1,955,759, above referred to.

The bottom frame section 2 has formed on the bottom wall thereof upstanding cam elements I1 for actuating the blade holder H to present one side and then the other of a blade to the abrading element A without slap, as will be more fully described hereinafter. To said bottom wall a trip spring I8 is secured at a point beyond the element I1 for reversing the blade, as will also be fully described later.

'I'he carriage C includes side rails 29 working in the aforementioned slideways of the frame, and united by a bridging saddle 2| provided with a finger piece 22 and a guard member 23. The side rails 20 are recessed to receive bearing blocks 24 secured to the rails by screws 25. Journaled in the bearing blocks are trunnions 2S at the ends of the blade holder H, and on these trunnions are mounted resilient actuating members 28--28 and pinions 29-2 9, the latter constantly meshing with the respective racks 4-4.

The pinions 29 are in frictional contact with the actuating members 28, and mounted on the trunnions 25 between the actuating members and side walls of the top frame section I are friction disks 30. The actuating members control the rocking movement of the holder and are yieldingly applied between the pinions and the ends of the blade holder, by being normally bowed laterally to a sufcient extent to be placed under stress when applied to the holder. The ends of the actuating members which are in the form of at springs are bifurcated at 3I-3I to receive the protruding edge portions 32 of the blade holder to operatively connect the actuating member and blade holder for rotation as a unit. The amount of impingement of the edge of a wafer blade 33 on the face of the abrader A is dependent upon the amount of friction which is produced between the central portion of the actuating members 2B and the co-acting faces of the pinions 29. The friction thus created produces a rotative force on the actuating member when the pinions are rotated by the racks 4, which force is transmitted to the blade holder at its protruding end portions 32.

The blade holder H is adapted to accommodate double edged wafer blades of the Gillette or Probak type but it is to be understood that the invention contemplates the use of other blade holders which are interchangeable in the carriage C to accommodate single-edged types of blades as well as rigid hollow ground blades.

The blade holder H comprises an elongated plate 21 (Figure 3) having pairs of apertures 35 and 36, the former of which are adapted to removably receive L-shaped lugs 38 on one end of a blade retaining member 31 at the other end of which are latch lugs 39 projecting downwardly from a finger piece 39a and adapted to be sprung into the openings 35 to latch the retaining member in the active position shown in Figure l, yet permit the retaining member to be swung up- Wardly to the position shown in Figure 3 and removed from vthe plate 21. The retaining member which is in the form of a fiat :bar has laterally offset headed retaining tongues 28a and a central locking lug 28h. The heads of the tongues 28a are adapted to enter openings 33a (Figure 8) in the blade and to co-act with reduced portions 33h of such openings in securing the blade to the retaining member when the blade is shifted longitudinally thereon to the position shown in Figure 8, in which position the locking lug 2817 coacts with a central opening 33o in the blade to confine the latter against longitudinal displacement. It will be understood that in applying and removing the blade, it is necessary that the blade be flexed laterally a sufficient amount to clear the locking lug 28h which automatically co-acts to lock the blade in place when the blade is released and shifted longitudinally to the centered position on the retaining member shown in Figure 8.

The abrader A comprises a hone 49 and a strop 4I mounted on opposite sides of a plate 42 the side edges of which are formed to provide tracks 43 having runways 44 and 45. The tracks are provided on their inner sides with tapered faces 46 and 41 to dene dovetailed grooves to retain the hone and strop in place.

The edges 48 and 49 of the widened ends of the plate 21 are adapted to ride upon the runways 44 and 45 should the carriage be reciprocated without a blade in the holder whereby to support the plate 21 against wiping engagement with the hone or strop, as the case may be, in order to prevent marring cf the surfaces thereof.

The abrader is detachably connected to the coupler I2 by means of a lug 52 on the plate 42 which seats in a cavity 53 of the coupler, the bottom wall of which has a threaded bore in which a screw S extending through the lug is threaded to secure the abrader to the coupler.

The spring 58 has its end portions bearing against bosses 59 of the bottom frame section 2, and has its lower edge resting upon the bottom wall of such section, there being a lateral slot 5I in the spring through which the trunnion 8 extends so that the central portion of the spring bears against the coupler I2 in order to normally urge the abrader to the advanced position shown in the drawing, yet permit the abrader to be manually retracted by the knob lll and then rotated to present either side to the blade, it being understood that in order to effect this operation the carriage C must occupy its extreme position remote from the knob.

The operation of the invention is as follows:

Let it be assumed that the blade 3S has been applied to the holder H as shown in Figure l. As the carriage C is moved towards the right in Figure 2, the'pinions 29 are rotated -by the rac is 4 in a counter-clockwise direction so as to position the blade for sharpening as shown by the dotted line position D, whereas upon moving the blade holder to the left, the reverse rotation of the pinions by the racks causes the blade to be oppositely inclined to occupy the dotted line position T. These two rocking movements of the blade holder and the reciprocation of the carriage sufficiently to eifect wiping contact of the blade with the abrader A sharpen only the two opposite edges on one side of the blade.

When the opposite side of the blade is to be similarly treated, the carriage is advanced to the left in Figure 2 further than normally towards the extreme position shown in this gure, so as to cause the end edges 48 of the blade holder to ride the cam elements I1, during which movement the pinions continue to rotate in a clockwise direction until the edges 48 of the holder engage and ex the inclined tip portions. 61 of the spring I8.

The tip portions 61 return to their normal position when cleared by the edges 48, so that upon. reciprocating the carriage towards the right, the edges again contact the tip portion 6lv and rock the blade holder clockwise through a sui'licient angle for the edges 48, in again riding upon the.` cam element I1, to reverse the position of the blade and thus present its opposite side to the. abrader for sharpening. The reciprocation of the carriage within the limits deiined by the dotted line positions D and T will sharpen the two edges of said opposite side of the blade. It will be clear that any of the movements abovedescribed will be eiected as required in order to dress a dull blade.

Reference will now be had to Figures 9 to l1, inelusive, wherein is shown a modied form of blade holder H and a rigid hollow ground razor blade |33, for which this holder is particularly adapted.

The holder H comprises two at rectangular heads 'l0 and 'H provided, respectively, with trunnions 12 and 13 rotatably mounted in co-axial relationship in the side rails 20a of a carriage C similar in construction and functioning to the carriage C. Headed screws i4- 14 are threaded into the outer ends of these trunnions and ceu act with the side rails to prevent axial displacement of the heads therefrom inwardly of the rails.

Interposed between the heads and rails, and mounted on the trunnions 72 and 'I3 are resilient actuating members 28a-28a, pinions 29d-29a, and friction disks 30a-30a. The actuating members 28a are bifurcated to receive protruding edge portions 32a of the heads l0 and 1I, all for the purpose set forth in connection with the holder H.

The head 'l0 is provided with a recess l5 and a pocket 'I6 opening thereinto to receive a tongue Tl projecting centrally from one end of the blade, whereas the head 'H is provided with a recess 18 for receiving an identical tongue I9 on the other end of the blade.

Pivotally mounted on a pin 80 in the recess 18 is a latch arm Bl having a latching shoulder 82 on which either the tongue 'l1 or 19 is adapted to be rested when the latch arm occupies its open position shown in broken lines in Figure 10, and following insertion o'f the other tongue into the pocket 16.

Upon swinging the latch arm to the latching position shown in full lines in Figure 10, the shoulder 82 co-acts with the end of the respective tongue to force the heads 1G and H axially away from each other against the action of the resilient actuating members 28a which are thus placed under additional stress.

Due to the offset position of the shoulder 32 with respect to the axis of the pin 80 when the latch arm occupies latching position, the force exerted by the members 28a is in a direction to retain the latch arm in its latching position, as the bearing point of the end of the tongue on the shoulder is disaligned with respect to the axis of the pin 80 and the bearing point of the end of the other tongue against the bottom of the pocket 16.

lThe carriage C and blade holder H can be substituted as a unit for the carriage C and blade holder I-I so that both flexible Wafer blades and rigid hollow ground blades can be honed and stropped with equal facility.

What is claimed is:

l. The combination with a frame including a carriage and a blade holdermounted on said carriage, of anv abrader mounted on said frame and comprising a web; side rails on opposite sides of said web, having tapered inside faces extending longitudinally of and at acute angles relative to the web; and sharpening elements seated upon the opposite. faces of said web and having their side edges slidably interlocking with the tapered inside faces of said side rails, so as to detachably fastenv and support the sharpening elements therein.

2. The combination with a frame including a carriage and a blade holder mounted on said carriage, of anV abrader mounted on said frame and comprising side rails forming runways for portionsvof said blade holder to ride uponwhen reciprocated without a blade therein; a web uniting the side rails along their mid-widths; the side'r rails having tapered faces extending longitudinally along their inside edges at acute angles relative to said web; and sharpening elements seated upon the opposite faces of said web and having their side edges tapered at acute angles whereby to slidably interlock with the tapered faces of said rails to detachably fasten and support said sharpening elements therein.

3. In a device of the class described, a frame; a carriage; a blade holder mounted on said car@ riage for reciprocation therewith in the frame; a member extending transversely of the frame and having yieldable extremities rendering the blade holder free to move thereacross in one direction and coacting with the blade holder when reversely moved to initiate reversal of the blade holder; cam elements on the frame engageable by the blade holder to complete its reversal relative to the carriage; and an abrader supported by the framey in operative relation to the blade holder.

4. In a device of the kind described, a frame composed of top and bottom sections, the former having depending side Walls; the bottom section having upstanding side walls of greater thickness than the depending Walls of the top section; said top section having its depending wall portions aligning with and seated upon the upstanding wall portions of said bottom section; means securing said sections together in the aforementioned relative positions thus providing an internal ledge at the meeting edges of said sections, said top section being provided with a longitudinally extending ledge in vertically spaced relation to the` ledge rst recited, thus providing a track between said ledges, a carriage having side rails fitted between said ledges and the depending side walls of said top section to reciprocate on said track, and abrading means mounted in the frame; said carriage being constructed and arranged to hold a blade to be sharpened and when reciprocated to cause said abrading means to sharpen a blade.

5. In a device of the class described, a frame having racks; a carriage reciprocably mounted in the frame; a blade holder having trunnions journaled in the carriage; an abrader supported by the frame in operative relation to the blade holder; pinions mounted on the trunnions and meshing with the racks; and frictional actuating members on the trunnions having bifurcations which engage the blade holder at points remote from the axes of the trunnions.

6. In a sharpening device of the class described, wherein a carriage is reciprocably mounted in a frame; a blade holder mounted on the carriage and comprising an elongated plate having pairs of apertures exposed beyond the ends of a blade when correlated with the plate; a retaining member having L-shaped lugs at one end co-acting with one pair of apertures to provide a detachable connection between said plate and member; latch lugs on the other end of said member co-acting with the other pair of apertures to latch the member in operative relation to the plate; means for detachably securing a blade between the plate and member and an abrader in operative relation to the blade holder.

'7. In a sharpening device of the class described, wherein a carriage is reciprocably mounted in a frame, a blade holder mounted on the carriage and comprising an elongated plate having pairs of apertures exposed beyond the ends of a blade when correlated with the plate; a retaining member having L-shaped lugs at one end co-acting with one pair of apertures to provide a detachable connection between said plate and member; latch lugs on the other end of said member co-acting with the other pair of apertures to latch the member in operative relation to the plate; a finger piece on said other end of the retaining member for manipulating the latter to apply and release the latch lugs relative to the respective apertures; means for detachably securing a blade between the plate and member and an abrader in operative relation to the blade holder.

8. In a sharpening device of the class described wherein a carriage is reeiprocably mounted in a frame, a blade holder mounted on the carriage and comprising an elongated plate; a retaining member having laterally oiTset headed tongues and an intermediate locking lug adapted to co-act with openings in a razor blade to detachably secure the blade to the member; means for connecting the member to the plate with the blade disposed therebetween and an abrader in operative relation to the blade holder.

9. In a sharpening device of the class described wherein a carriage is reciprocably mounted in a frame, a blade holder comprising a pair of spaced heads journaled co-axially on the carriage; means for urging the heads axially towards each other to one extreme position; means on the heads adapted to co-act with end portions of a rigid blade in detachably securing the blade between the heads under the action of said urging means and an abrader in operative relation to the blade holder.

l0. In a sharpening device of the class described wherein a carriage is reciprocably mounted in a frame, a blade holder comprising a pair of spaced heads journaled co-axially on the carriage; means for urging the heads axially towards each other to one extreme position; the heads having recesses adapted to receive end tongues on a rigid blade; a latching member pivotally mounted on one of the heads and having a shoulder co-actable with one of the end tongues to detachably secure the blade between the heads under the action of said urging means and an abrader in operative relation to the blade holder.

GAHLBETH H. MURRIN. 

